One proponent of them Chris Anderson, former Editor-in-Chief of Wired. He founded DIY Drones where a community of 33,000 people fly devices they've made or purchased from his company, 3D Robotics. Even larger companies like FedEx are finding uses for drones; it hopes they'll be able to transport packages come 2015, when the FAA will start allowing drones to fly in standard US air space.

Now Airware, a startup that creates "brains" for drones, has attracted significant investor interest in Silicon Valley. Today, Airware announced a $10.7 million Series A round from Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures.

Airware is to drones what iOS is to iPhones. It's a universal platform for commercial drones that developer can buy and build upon for $20,000 to $50,000. Its technology has been implemented in drones that track endangered animals' whereabouts in Kenya, for example. Another Airware drone was built to deliver vaccines to remote locations in Southeast Asia.